1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates to telecommunication systems and, more particularly, to a system and method of creating subscriber services in an Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecommunications network.
2. Description of Related Art
In the classical telephony world which is based on circuit switched networks, a number of service architectures have been developed in the last decade, for example, the Intelligent Networks (IN) framework, Telecommunications Management Network (TMN), Telecommunications Information Networking Architecture (TINA), etc. The purpose of the service architectures is to increase the quality and range of services offered in communication networks. In order to compete with classical telephony in today""s market, the challenges that IP telephony faces is to offer not only the same high-quality voice calls, but also a set of call features (i.e., advanced subscriber services) which classical telephony offers today.
In existing IP-based telecommunications networks, subscriber services may be created in two alternative ways. In a first alternative, the services may be hard-coded into a switch such as an H.323 gatekeeper or a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) proxy server. In this instance, only the equip lent manufacturer of the switch can create services. In a second alternative, a service node such as a Service Control Point (SCP) may be utilized for service creation. If an SCP is used, and the service creation environment is open, then in addition to the equipment manufacturer, specialized software houses can create services to a limited extent. The SCP is manufactured, however, with a service creation environment in which a limited number of basic software components are provided for building services. Although the specialized software houses can create services, they are still limited by the components supplied by the manufacturer in the service creation environment in the SCP.
Thus, services made available today to end users by Internet Telephony Service Providers (ITSPs) are limited to the services that can be created by manufacturers or specialized software houses from the components supplied by the manufacturers. This results in only a limited set of services being available in the ITSP domain. Additionally, service providers cannot make new services available in real time to their subscribers.
In order to overcome the disadvantage of existing solutions, it would be advantageous to have a system and method of creating subscriber services in an IP-based telecommunications network that enables multiple players, including specialized software houses and ITSPs, to create a full range of advanced services that are open, flexible, and scalable. The system should also provide a service architecture that is open, distributed, and flexible. The present invention provides such a system and method.
In one aspect, the present invention is a method of creating subscriber services in an Internet Protocol (IP)-based telecommunications network. The method includes the steps of creating by a Service Component Creator (SCC), a service proxy object; and posting by the SCC, the service proxy object to a Lookup Service (LUS) that is accessible through the Internet. This is followed by downloading through the Internet by an Enterprise Service Creator (ESC), the posted service proxy object; and customizing by the ESC, the downloaded service proxy object to create a customized service for an end user.
In another aspect, the present invention is a method of provisioning a supplementary service upon request from an end user in an IP-based telecommunications network. The method includes the steps of receiving in a Service Management Unit (SMU), a service subscription request from the end user; multicasting by the SMU, the service subscription request over an Enterprise Local Area Network (LAN) to discover Enterprise LUSs that have supplementary services available for downloading; and sending by each Enterprise LUS, a list of its supplementary services to the SMU. The SMU then constructs a service subscription form listing the supplementary services available, and sends the service subscription form to the end user. This is followed by receiving in the SMU, an indication of a service selected by the user, and service-related data entered by the user. The SMU then sends a service request to the LUS that contains the requested service, and downloads service proxy code for the requested service from the LUS. A gatekeeper associated with the SMU and the end user then determines from the proxy code, a location of a Service Implementation Repository (SIR) storing actual service code for implementing the requested service. The gatekeeper then downloads the actual service code from the SIR, constructs a customized User Service Agent (USA) that includes the actual service code, and sends the customized USA to an agency at the user""s terminal.
In yet another aspect, the present invention is a method of setting up a call from a first end user to a second end user and forwarding the call to a third end user utilizing a USA and a Call Agent (CA) in an IP-based telecommunications network having a gatekeeper agency and an SMU serving the end users. The method begins by sending the USA from the second end user to the gatekeeper agency, the USA including a call forwarding service for the second end user. Upon initiation of the call by the first end user, Basic Call Processing (BCP) functions in a terminal of the first end user are invoked, and as a result, a setup message is sent from the first end user to the second end user via the gatekeeper agency. This is followed by checking a user profile in the SMU to determine whether the second end user subscribes to the call forwarding service, and if so, activating the second end user""s USA. The USA then instantiates the CA which implements an applicable call model. The CA then performs call processing and routes the call to the third end user.
In another aspect, the present invention is a service creation architecture in an IP-based telecommunications network for creating subscriber services. The architecture includes an SCC for creating a service proxy object, and an LUS in which a service proxy object created by the SCC is posted. The LUS is accessible through the Internet by an ESC. The ESC comprises means for downloading the posted service proxy object from the LUS, and means for customizing the downloaded service proxy object to create a customized service for enterprise users.
In yet another aspect, the present invention is a system for provisioning a supplementary service upon request from an end user in an IP-based telecommunications network. The system includes an SMU for receiving a service subscription request from the end user, at least one Enterprise LUS that includes supplementary services available for downloading, and an Enterprise LAN linking the SMU, the LUSs, and the end user. The Enterprise LAN is utilized by the SMU to multicast the service, subscription request to the LUSs. The system also includes means within each Enterprise LUS for sending a list of its supplementary services to the SMU, means within the SMU for constructing a service subscription form listing the supplementary services available, and means for sending the service subscription form from the SMU to the end user. The SMU also includes means for receiving an indication of a service selected by the user, and service-related data entered by the user; means for sending a service request to the LUS that contains the requested service; and means for downloading service proxy code for the requested service from the LUS to the SMU. The system also includes an SIR for storing actual service code for implementing the requested service; and a gatekeeper associated with the SMU and the end user. The gatekeeper includes means for determining a location of the SIR, means for downloading the actual service code from the SIR, and means for constructing a customized USA that includes the actual service code. Finally, the system includes means for sending the customized USA from the gatekeeper to an agency at the user""s terminal.
In still yet another aspect, the present invention is a system for setting up a call from a first end user to a second end user and forwarding the call to a third end user utilizing a USA and a CA in an IP-based telecommunications network. The system includes a gatekeeper agency serving the end users, an SMU managing services for the end users, and means for sending the USA from the second end user to the gatekeeper agency. The USA includes a call forwarding service for the second end user. The system also includes a first end user terminal that includes BCP functions, the BCP functions being invoked upon initiation of the call by the first end user. As a result of the BCP functions being invoked, the first end user terminal sends a setup message to the second end user via the gatekeeper agency. A user profile in the SMU indicates whether the second end user subscribes to the call forwarding service, and the SMU includes means for activating the second end user""s USA when the user profile indicates that the second end user subscribes to the call forwarding service. The USA includes means for instantiating the CA which implements an applicable call model, and performs call processing for routing, the call to the third end user.